SCOTTSDALE — The Arizona Diamondbacks’ top prospect is a hometown kid, and he’s showing off in the desert this fall, Arizona Sports reported.
Infielder Demetrio Crisantes and left-handed pitcher Joe Ariola were named 2026 National League Fall Stars for their play in the Arizona Fall League.
Crisantes, 22, is from Nogales. He is hitting .266 with a .347 on-base percentage in 16 games for the Salt River Rafters and is second in the league with six doubles. He has also stolen seven bases.
He hit .292 with 10 home runs in 92 minor league games this year, dominating Double-A before a tougher stretch in Triple-A, according to Arizona Sports. MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 84 among all prospects.
The D-backs drafted Crisantes in the seventh round in 2022 and will need to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.
Ariola, 22, has struck out nine with no walks in 6 1/3 innings this fall. Arizona drafted him in the seventh round in 2025 out of Wake Forest, and he posted a 1.56 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 34 2/3 minor league innings this season.
The league’s Home Run Derby is Saturday at Salt River Fields, and the playoffs begin with the quarterfinals on Nov. 12.
Sources: Arizona Sports. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: MSgt. Raheem Moore / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
